Lake-Sumter EMS celebrates 10 years of service

LEESBURG — Lake-Sumter Emergency Medical Services is inviting the public to celebrate its 10th anniversary today with a ceremony at Main Street Receptions, 200 E. Main St.

The event from 4 to 6:30 p.m. includes a ceremony at 5 p.m. to thank employees and citizens who have been part of the past decade. Forty-four employees who have been with the agency since the beginning also will receive 10-year service pins for their dedication, said Jim Judge, executive director.

People are welcome to stop by for light hors d'oeuvres and to meet the paramedics and EMTs, Judge said.

Lake-Sumter EMS began Oct. 1, 2000, as a government-owned nonprofit ambulance company. It replaced former ambulance services provided by American Medical Response through Florida Hospital Waterman, when the hospital said it was losing too much money and wanted out.

The hospital's parent company, Adventist Health System, had been investigating alleged misuse of ambulance system equipment and employees.

The ambulance service also had drawn scrutiny from the U.S. Justice Department and Waterman eventually paid $8.2 million to end a two-year probe into whether it paid inflated fees to run the system.

"There were people that felt that Lake-Sumter EMS would not survive the first six months," Judge said. It faced challenges in everything from out-of-date vehicles to communication systems Judge described as "basically archaic."

What began as a 130-person organization has grown to 265 employees, Judge said.

In 2008, it was named EMS Provider of the Year by the state Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and received the Jeffrey Harris Paid EMS Service of the Year Award from the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians.

"We've obviously made huge strides over 10 years, and we wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of so many individuals," Judge said.

He added that the goal is to keep pace with the growth, keep services affordable and continue to provide cutting-edge medical care.